Antares Selected for $161M Strategic Breakthrough Award to Demonstrate Space Reactor

[Marlin]

Antares Selected for $161M Strategic Breakthrough Award to Demonstrate Space Reactor

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260911190136/en/Antares-Selected-for-%24161M-Strategic-Breakthrough-Award-to-Demonstrate-Space-Reactor

[Core Content]

Antares received a $161 million award from the Air Force to develop and demonstrate space nuclear power systems, including a ground demonstration of the R1-S reactor and flight certification integration. The project aligns with national directives to launch space reactors by 2028. This contract expands military microreactor development following the company's recent initial criticality milestone at Idaho National Laboratory.

TORRANCE, Calif., September 11, 2026--Antares today announced it has been selected by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration for a Strategic Breakthrough award to advance nuclear power for space. It marks the largest current Department of War award in space nuclear power.

"Space has been core to the Antares thesis since the company was founded," said Jordan Bramble, CEO and co-founder of Antares. "This partnership with the Space Force turns that long-held vision into a codified space mission. Fission will unlock strategic capabilities that are impossible today."

Through this program, Antares will perform a nuclear ground demonstration of the R1-S and integrate with a spacecraft for flight certification forward of launch. The company will also power an operational ground-to-space asset with Mark-1, its electricity-producing reactor, scheduled for testing in 2027.

Related coverage at Yahoo Finance:
https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/antares-selected-161m-strategic-breakthrough-130000849.html